CIHM Microfiche Series (IMonographis) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographles) ml Canadian InttltuM for Hhtorieal MieroraprodHCtions / Imthut canaditin da mtererapraductiona hiatoriquaa 1995 Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes technique et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the ujual method of filming are checked below. ly] Coloured covers / '^ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ ' — ' Couveiture endommagee I I Covers restored and/or laminated / Couverture restaur^ et/ou pellicula I I Cover title missing /Le litre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes geographiques en couleur I I Cotoured ink (i.e. other than blue or t)lack)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Cotoured plates and/or illustratians / Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur I I Bound with other material / ReM avec d'autres documen's D D D Only edition available / Seule 6dltk>n disponible Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin / La reliure sarree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorskin le tong de la marge Interieure. Blank leaves added during restorattons may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from Hming / II se peut que ceitaines pages blanches ajouttes tors cfune restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, toisque cela etait possUe, ces pages n'ont pas «M filmtes. L'Institut a microtilm6 le meilleur examplaire qu'il lui a M6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exem- plaire qui sont peut-6tre uniques du point de vue bibli- ographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modifications dans la m6th- odr normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. I I Cotoured pages/ Pages de couleur I I Pages damaged/ Pages endommagSes [ I Pages restored and/or laminated/ — Pages restaurtes et/ou pellkniiees r^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed / — Pages d«cotor«es,tachet4esoupkiuees I I Pages detached/ Pages detachies ra Showthrough / Transparence I I Quality of print varies / ' — ' Qualite inegale de I'impression I I Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppl6nientaire r~l Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image / Les pages totalement ou partiellement otiscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 filmees k nouveau de fa^on k obtenir la meilleure image possible. I I Opposing pages with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twtee to ensure the best possible image / Les pages s'opposant ayant des colorations variables ou des dteol- orations sont filmtes deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleur image possible. n Addttional comments/ Commentaires stfipMmentairas: Thi< itmt is f ilmad at dw raduction rnio dMdnd balow/ Ct dacwMKl Ml f ihn* m taux d> tMuction indiqu* ei-dtssoui. '0» 14X 1IX 22X 2«X 1(X »X 24X 2ax 3JX Th« copy fllmad h«r* hM bMn raproduead thank* to tha ganaroaitv of: National Library of Canada L'axamplaira n\mt fut raproduit griea i la gtnttotitt da: Blbllothiqua natlonala du Canada Tha imaga* appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poasibia considaring tha condition and legibility o( tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apacificationa. La* imaga* *ulvanta* ont tti raproduitas avac I* plu* grand >oin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da Taxampiaira film*, at an conformit* avac laa eondltlena du contrat da fllmaga. Original eopiaa in printad papar covara ara fllmad beginning with ttia front cover and ending on the laat page with a printad or Kluatratad impree- *ion. or the back cover whan appropriate. All other original eopiea ara filmed beginning on the firat page with a printed or llluatrated impree- *ion. and ending on the laat page with a printad or llluatrated impreaaion. Tha laat recorded frame on eech microfiche •hell contain tha aymbol — ^ (meaning "CON- T1NUE0"). or the (ymbol V (meaning "END"), whichever appliea. Laa axempielrea originaux dont le couverture an papier eet Imprimte aont film** en commencant par le premier plat at an larminent aoit par la darnWre page qui comporta una amprainta d'Impreuion ou d'illuitration, loit par la second plat, aelon le ea*. Tou* lea autre* examplaira* originaux aont fllmt* an commencant par la premiere page qui comporta une emprainta d'Impraasion ou d'illuotration at an tarminant par la darnitre page qui comporta una telle empreinte. Un dea aymbolea auivant* apparattra aur la darnitre imege do cheque microflGha, aelon le cea: le symbol* '-*■ signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbol* V eignltie "FIN". Mepi. plat**, charta. etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Thoae too large to be entirely Included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hend comer, left to right and top to bonom, aa many framea aa required. The following diagrama illuatrate the method: Lea cartea. planchea. tableaux, etc.. pauwent itra filmto t dea uux da reduction diff*ranis. Lor*que le document e*t trop gr*nd pour ttr* reproduit en un »*ul cllch*. il •*t film* * p*rtir d* I'angia aup^riaur gauche, de geuche t droita. at de haut en baa. an prenant le nombra d'Imagaa nicaaaaira. lie* diagrammea suivants illuatrant la mtthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 "KWXWT HSnuriON TBI ciuir (ANSI and ISO TEST CH*«t No. 2) I.I lis ■ti 1^ 12.0 1 1-6 /APPLIED IIVHGE Inc ■■ N»w rofk 14609 USA 7- ADDRESSES DELIVERED BY HON. G. W. ROSS DURING HIS Recent Visit to England and at the Meeting on His Return ^a\^ ^ m R.7tG^e. [\yv n/^ i T' ADDRESSES DELIVERED BY HON. G. W. ROSS DURING HIS Recent Visit to England and at the Meeting on His Return Hon. 0. W. Ross at the Hotel Metropoley London. On Mondsy, .luly 15th, I'JOl, the Duko ot l)evnii«hirc> jravn n luncheon t» the meniberH of the British Knipire Li'ngue in Ixiridnii in Honour of the Colonial Dclegateti to the Imperial Court of Appeal Conference, at which Loni Avebury, Honorary Treasurer, pn'sided. Among those present were Li,rd Avebury, Mr. James Bailey, MP., Sir James BIyth, Mr. Sydney lluxton, M.P., Sir Edward Carbi't, J. Henniker Heaton, M.P., Sir Kobert Herbert, Mr. Justice Hodges, of Victoria; Sir David Tennant, Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, Lord Strathcona, Sn Howard Vincent, Sir Froderick Young and over two hundred others. The toast of " Our Guest " was nroposed by Sir Sydney Buxton, M.P., ar.J replied to by Mr Justice Hodges, of Victoria. The toast of the " British Empire League " was proposed by Mr. Roes and replied to by the Chairman, Lord Avebury. In proposing the toast Mr. Ross said : Lord Avebury, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, I regret exceed- ingly that owing to the absence of the Postmaster-General of Canada, the Hon. W. Muli'ck — (cheers) — the duty of propoaing this toast has fallen to me. I received notice that I was expected to discharge this duty just about an hou.' before coming to this very pleasant gathering, and, under the circumstances, you can appreciate the personal element of that regret, in the absence of the Hon. Mr. Mulock. I have been for man^ years in Canada .1 metnbcr of the British Empire League which we formed in the Province of Ontario, and of which Lieut. - Colonel Denison— (cheers) — i.s now our esteemed president. The objects of the British Empire League, as we understand them in Canada, are, shall I say fir.st to promote in the Empire and at the seat of power a greater iuierest in the Colonics of the Empire. 'Hear, AOIIHEMH BV Till: HUH. I). »'. luws hiMir.) The LfBgue hull iW origin litre. Il (iri([in»l«l M Mr. .Iu»tii.e II p -Mluct* itf tlif timiitijp, from 50,000,000 to 170,000,000 «, or over ,.<>0 per cpiit Wa wU mora becBUfi** we prtMluL'p iiiorr tinil Im>ciiuii« you huy mora. \V'i> have incre«MHl uur milen of railwuy from 2,000 in |HG7 until w*- now have 17,000 miltft. I think ymi have nnly lil.OOO in thf Initcd Kingtloni. We have increaHtMl our Havinf{i \mnk cleptMilM fmin RiO^'O,- 000 t*) 60,000,000. We art' steadily gpttinc richer : we si«nil on. it) money when we votne to t^imton. (Lnuifhttr,) We have im-reasetl our businesn tleponits in the iMtnks from ;i,'t,000,000 to •J77,00ed the objects with which the League was formed. I am sorry to say that I am old enough to remember the time which has been referred to by Mr. Justice Hodges, when the idea of retaining the Colonies was not so firmly fixed as it is at present. There were many who thought the time must come when the Colonies would be severed from the Motlier Country, but we are now agreed that, on the contrary, the time must never come for doing so. (Cheers.) We have not been formed in order to attempt to advocate any cut-andKlried sciieme of union or any new constitution. The constitution of the United Kingdom has grown up slowly through the ages, and we are now evolving a new constitution for the British Empire which, I hope, will gradually knit together more closely the different parts of which it is composed. (Hear, hear.) Hecetit events in South Africa have shown that if any one of our Colonies is attacked, it is not only the Mother Country but the Sister Colonies all over the world who will rally to her defence and repulse any attack, no matter from what quarter it may lie pressed. Mr. Justice Hixlges referred, as is, perhaps, natural in existing circum- stances, specially to the advantages *hich the Empire would receive from any organization which would enable us in any case of necessity — a necessity which, I trust, will never arise, but in case it should ADDRESS BY THE HON. O. W. ROSS arise — to put forward the whole strength of the Empire. But I think he will agree with me that the benefits of reunion are not merely con- fined to times of difficulty and war, but that they are equally impor- tant in times of peace. (Hear, hear.) Look at what is going on across the "silver streak "at the present time. We see the great communities of Europe harassed and distracted by international jealousies and suspicions, gradually converting Europe into a series of military camps, and arming themselves at greater and greater expense, and at a greater sacrifice every year, becausa they are open to attacks from some neighbouring countty. And then, on the contrary, look further across the seas. Consider our relations with Australia, with Canada, with South Africa, with India, with New Zealand, with all the other integral parts of the British Empire, and there you will see none of these jealousies and suspicions — (hear, hear) — but you see mutual goodwill, mutual confidence, mutual rejoicing, if any one part of the Empire has any prosperity or any advantage. (Cheers.) And it is in order to promote these great objects that the British Empire League has been formed, and we hope that in some slight measure it may contribute to so great an advantage for the Empire. (Hear, hear.) We trust, ladies and gentlemen, and I am sure that the speeches we have heard from our Colonial friends to-day have awakened a feeling which will re-echo in our hearts. We hope that with one King and one flag, with one language and one literature, we may long remain happy and prosperous, because a united Empire. (Cheers.) I thank you for the kind way in which you have drunk the toast. Mr. Ross at a Meeting of the Council of the League. A meeting of the Council was held in the Oranil Committee Koora, Westminster Hall, on Thursday, 25th July. Viscount Knutsford, G.C.M.G. (Vice-President), and afterwards the Earl of Aberdeen, G.C.M.G. (Vice-President), presided. The members present included the Hon. George W. Ross (Premier of Ontario), Mr. Sydney Buxton, M.P. (Vice-President), Sir Robert G. W. Herbert, G.C.B. (Chairman of EMCutive), Sir James Blyth, Bart., Sir Frederick Young, K.C.M.G., Sir W. L. BuUer, K.C.M.G., Mr. W. H. Holland, M.P., Mr. Charles Trevelyan, M.P., Col. Denny, M.P., Mr. C. Freeman Murray (Secre- tary), and others. The Earl of Aberdeen : Having dealt with these matters of necessary business we now come to the central point of our proceed- ings, namely, to hear an addre.is from the Hon. G. W. Ross, Premier of Ontario. (Hear, hear.) Fortunately it is not necessary to say much, or anything, by way of introduction, although we may be allowed to say something by way of hearty welcome and greeting to our distinguished friend on this occasion. (Hear, hear.) I think that there is a peculiar appropriateness in the invitation to Mr. Ross to address us— an invitation which he has so kindly accepted— having come from the British Empire League; and as it is under the auspices ai the League that Mr. Ross is to give us this address I would ven- ture to remark— I know that Mr. Ross recognizes it as much as any- one — that the League is a comprehensive institution. Like the Empire itself, it is widely embracing, and, also like the Empire, it recognizes autonomy in its branches ; and therefore what one branch may say or do does not, in regard to special questions of policy, com- mit the League as a whole. (Hear, hear.) I think it worth while making that observation because I have heard, occasionally, expres- sions somewhat in the nature of misgivings or apprehensions as to whether, as a League, we may not sometimes be in danger of becoming 9 10 ADDRESS BY THE HON. O. W. ROSS a propaganda of certain great questions of policy. That, I think, is not the object of the League, nor the desire of its members ; but, on the contrary, we desire that piopcr freedom sliould exist in that respect as regards the brr.nohes so as to promote tlie coliesion and smooth working of tlie institution as a whole. I suppose some of us here may hear statements and recommendations which we may not personally see our way to concur with. That is no reason for the slightest perturbation on our part. We wish to hear Mr. Ross's views as a statesman, a statesman of mark, and especially as a statesman of one of t'ls great Colonies of the Empire, and I am sure we shall listen to what -le has to say with j;reat respect and appreciation too. \\ ith- out further words I now beg to ask him to address us. Mr. Uoss, who was cordially greeted, said : My lords and gentle- men, you have conferred on me a high honour in asking me U> address the Council of the League. It is an honour I greatly appreciate. I have been for some time connected with the League in Canada and a constant reader of the League Rtvkw. and I think that I have a pretty comprehensive idea as to its work here, and what it attempts to do for the Colonies. This opp..itunity of meeting the members of the League is one I greatly appreciate, and the more so as it is presided over by your lordship, whose associations with myself and my Govern- ment while in Canada were of the most pleasant and satisfactory character. I am delig'-ted to give expression to this view here as I was delighted to do over and over again at home. The work of the League is, as the chairman has said, a very comprehensive one, ito efforts being to promote the autonomy and unity of the Empire. I need not recall what is known to all of you, but what is particularly felt in the Colonies, and it is that there was a time when we did not feel that there was the sympathy of the Motherland towai-ds us Cana- dians-and perhaps the same feeling existed elsewhere-that we had reason to expect. That, however, was very largely removed by the Confederation Act of 1867, with which my distinguished friend. Lord Knutsford, was intimately associated, and for the part he played I desire to express my sincere thanks to him. ^ new era dawned on us Canadians with that Act, one in which the friendship between the Colonies and the Mother Country has grown greatly, and one which has witnessed other federations, and, notably, the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia. (Hear, hear.) Got of these federations ADDRESS BY THE HON. fJ. W. ROBS u of the Colonies 1ms sprung the idea that it is possible the federiitlon of the whole Empire might be the ultimate outcome. That view ha.s been discussed in the JMvieiv, in the press of Canada and of the United Kingdom, and it has been present to the mind of Canadians for some time. Well, I do not say that the federation of the Empire is impracticable by any means, bat 1 think I may say with satety, looking from the standpoint of a Canadian, that I do not think we have reached the point at which we should pres.s, as a Colony, for immediate federation. Some steps may have been taken already toward that end. It may may come ab,)Ut in the process of time, but one cannot anticipate the evolution of great political ques tions ; and, in the meantime, I think there are matters, minor matters, lying' more closely at hand which require attention as well as this larger scheme of the federation of the Empire. If that .scheme were to be seriously considered, however, I think we might pass over in readiness the geographical ditticulties. With our rapid systems of transport all such difficulties would be overcome. Still, I do not s,-o what we hi- , to gain by such a federation, pa'ticularly so far as tin- administration of our own affairs are concerned. The Magna Cliarta of Colonial Government was set forth clearly by Lord Durham in his report in 1839, and that was that if the Colonies were to remain in affiliation with the Empire, and be successfully governed at all, the principle of self-government had to be conceded almost in its integrity. If we are to have federation of the Empire I do not see how it can be brought about without the sacrifice of some of the elements or princi- ples or privileges of self-government which we now possess, and for the Colonies to do this, unless it would be for the larger and more com prehensive interests of the Empire, would be a view which would not be very pleasantly entertained. I do say, however, that a scheme of federation which might lead to the merging of some of the interests and privileges of the Colonies in the larger (Jovernment of the Empire might not be undesirable or unsatisfactory, but at the pre.sent tune we have not reached that stage in the discussion of this question which would enable us to express any definite opinion upon it. We are sat- isfied in Canada with the Government of the Empire from \\ est- minster : we are satisfied with the manner in which our Colonial affairs have been administered, particularly for the last thirty odd years • we are satisfied with the representatives of the Crown who have IS ADDRBW BT THE HOH. O. W. R08.S occupied a viceregal poeitiop in the Dominion of Canada during that time ; and for the surrender of some of the privileges of selfgovem- ment we are at a loss to see what great advantages would be gained. I agree that if some of our public men were sent over here to take part in legislating for the Empire it would broaden their views, and per- haps train them for dealing better with great public questions. That, however, is a matter which we need not discuss at this stage. On the other hand, if we were to be represented at Westminster, we should have to send to you a certain number of our best men, and these we can ill afford to spare. We have not such a large supply of, let me say, legislative timber in our country as to be able to send here many who would worthily represent our country in the House of Commons. I observe that the Colonial Secretary has suggested the appoint ment ,>f a permanent Council, to which would be referred matters affecting the Empire as a whole. A permanent Council would, per- haps, serve a useful purpose. There are difficulties about that, how- ever, which occur to me, and which would require serious considera. tion before we could approve of the suggestion. In the first place, is It to be a nominated Council 1 I think it must be. It could not be elected over a large area like the Dominion of Canada. At least our section of it could not. We have an electorate of one million, and if we had to elect two or three members of that Council how we could do so by the vote of our people is a problem the solution of which I do not see just now. Besides, such a permanent Council, it estab- lished, could not have legislative power. It would be an advisory Council merely, and in that respect it would be very useful, perhaps, but I think a b dy like this, an imperium in imperio, even if it had not legislative power, would be rather alarming to us in Canada, and therefore I am driven to the conclusion that the Colonial Office have already acted on the best system in convening occasional conferences of Colonial delegates. I speak with the greatest satisfaction of these Conferences. They have been meetings of our best men with some of your best men. They have been meetings where the delegates sat on the friendliest terms with each other, and where they knew, before they met, the subjects that would come up for discussion and had got the public opinion of their country on them. In that way, by mutual conference and confidential discussion, they have been able to adjust somt, of the difficulties which existed between the Colonies and the ADDIIESH IIY THE HON. (i. W. lioss 13 Empire; and if there should be other difficulties which requin- removal we car, by such conferences meet our fellow Colonists and the member, of the Privy Council and settle them in a friendly way I shall be ghid if a number of questions to which I will refer presently but very brierty, should con>e before an early conference of Colonial delegates, perhaps during the Coronation year, and that son.e of these question., in which Canada is interested, should l« carefully .-onsi,!. ered I may, therefore, be regarded as havinj. ,o„„„itted myself to regular consultative conferences, held as often as the ImperiHl author- ities consider necessary, and I can as,,ure you that to such conference, we will send our l^st men, and in the deliberations give our best opinion. If the Empire is to be autonomous, there should be a f,.elinK of unity throughout its diiTerent parts. Canada has the sentiment of unity to a degree that the most ardent Imperialist can desire We have given substantial proof of that-(hear, hear)-but, apart from the evidence we have given, it is deep down in the heart of every Canadian that the future prosiierity of Canada depends on the present relations with the Empire, and a closer alliance if possible We have outgrown feelings of restlewness. Those who believed in independence have reached the vanishing point ; those who believed in annexation are hardly ever heard from now. They have given up all discussion of that question, and there is in Canada now-and his lordship will bear testimony to that from his residence of four or five years among us-but one feeling of honest, sincere loyalty to His Majesty and loyalty to the Empire and to the interests of the Empire in all it,* magnitude and extent. At the same time we feel, looting at the question as one of unifica- tion, that matters, some minor, some major, are worthy of consideration If you are to have a unified Empire you ought to have a unified com- mercal nomenclature and terminology at all sources of commercial contact. A uniform currency for the Empire would be a great con- venience. (Hear, hear.) It would be convenient for us if in our com- mercial transactions all over the Kmpire our own currency were adopted. That might be an immediat* inconvenience for the Empire I do not say that our system should 1» forced on you, but if the decimal system were adopted it would 1« a convenience in business transactions, and a decimal system of weights and measures would also facilitate husin.-s,. When we come to 14 ADDBEHS HY THE HOV. M. W. ROSS London to buy and seU we are met by a currency and a system of weights and measures with which we are almost m unfamiliar as when we go tu Germany or France. We do not feel at home in the same sense as if we bought nnd sold in terms with which we are familiar, Tl would also be a great convenience if there were a uniform syitem of legislation by which debts and claims in all parts of the Empire could be disposed of in similar terms. Those who trade with the Colonies and Great Britain would then know more readily how their debts and liabilities could Ih> disposed of and how, once incurred, they could be the more easily collected. I noticed while the minutes were being read that there was a reference to the unfortunate condition in which certain persons, bom in wedlock in Canada, find themselves when they come to the Motherland. That is an anomalous condition which I should be happy to see altered. (Hear, hear.) Uniformity in postal laws has been practically tichieved, largely through the generosity and statesmanship of the Duke of Norfolk, assisted by Mr. Henniker-Heaton here, and the Postmester-General, Mr. Mulock— (hear, hear) — on our aide. That settlement we appre- ciate greatly. It is a bond of union, and it meets in its own way certain objections which T have taken to deficiencies in other respects. Cannot we have, in conjunction with that, a system of intercolonial cable commui.: nation ? We rejoice in Canada that we have solved, with your assistance and the assistance of Australia, the problem of the Pacific cable, by which Australia, Canada and the Empire, will be connected at an early date. We miss that quick correspondence between Canada and the United Kingdom which we could get by a system of nationalized cables ; and, another thing, we miss in public life the brief despatches — the telegraphic news which would come over a nationalized system of cables at a much lower rate than now charged. It is desirable that all parts of the Empire should be in easy com- munication, commercially and politically, and that not only we should be informed of the position of stocks and exchange here, but that we should have daily in Canada some knowledge of the great political pulse that beats and throbs so strongly here. A cheaper system of cable communication would aid in that respect. And, again, I should be glad to see something like reciprocity — perhaps this is the only term I can use — between the Empire and the Colonies with regard to professions. The Lord High Chancellor with all his powers cannot ADDRDW BT THE HON. O. W. ROSS 15 i».ue .writ for I0-. in C«.ada. Your l«.t pr«titi„„er in th. medicl profession could not prutice without being liable to arrest and „,?^ rhiStn?-""''"'"" "'"•■ Notion, of o'urXUduK this Houth Afncan campaign who does not hold a diploma f ron^ v^u? Sfn S^^'^^'^u*^""'*""' Surgeons could attend to theS and woundBd among his own countrymen in South Africa ^tTat hear ) I do not say there could be free trade in that «,nse bet" «n Itt^^Z" "m "■« Empire with regard to professions, but I TnTa ^inference could settle that certain «!crediteJl schools Ld college" of medicine, and persons holding a prescribed rank in thel^fhouW rj'LTBrit'Ih'^-^""'"?'- '"«".•—.) If I want tt sii!fco'uidrt\s^rrih'ere"i.r:hat"«.;t •s'''- ™""' r and an absurdity which should 4 remov'ed'^ We'ttt n STXt far as possibly u, , .courage the emigration of your bes m^i^ ^ p.«s.b y might happen that the interchange of professionSwu^il m that respect between the Colonies and the Emli^^attdTT me™.' d"TK "^^ ^i-'™ "^ '<"" - five matZ wh" g «cur t^ sTL^f ,"'' 'r*" T'f """*' »« I '■"ve referred to might^°p t »pireir.? jcor.es :'::id b;tutait..^:^n^' --^ - aUeffi"'" *" ""^^P*-^ »f ""» -•" ".altitude of your ^pulat.^ is »t,f„^^f "'u".""""""'^"™- '^^ population of Ireland to-day IS about half what it was in 1841. Four million people have left Ireland and the natural increase of these in fifty yeaVs wonldT IJl or three million more. Therefore we may L thaHx Z°mL^Z^ have been lost to Ireland alone, and Lve^ont-!where S' S'ne to'-th"' r^^^ i° "■' UnitedStates. Perh.^s a larg^ nuiber hav: gone to the other Colon.es, but the great bulk of them have been lost I,! the Empire, and those people are now among the sti-ong^t^^d molt useful o,ti.ens ,n the United States. We in Canada* wouW ha^,' ^7JZ7t'"""'l '^"'i "S^ ?'"'">'■ '"'' "^ ""• ■=«" take as many ^^ an tesent from Iceland. England, Scotland and Wales. I am to?d that the annual emigration from your shores numbers al«ut Too OOn and we get only about 10,000 of them. If you are goTng "strewn the Co on.es and inaugurate a policy whe.4bv the Colonies can be power in the defence of the Empire, a carefuf study ot" the dlreciton ouesSin """ f^ ^""^ '^'"«'''"" " °- ■>' 'he most press ng cS.lT^ P'"^-^'"^"'- , ' ''<"'""'^'- "■ »pe«ch delivered by ™f Colonial Secretary in Canada in 1888-he was not Colonial Secretary tJ en ,„_,h,ch he said that the two thing., Canada needrwererp.^ lat.0,. and capital. ,.„r population to-day is «ve millions. !f'7ou 10 ADDRESS lir THE HON. want to put U8 in « pcition in wliich we oun be of more M»i«tniiee l„ tlie Empire, give u» of your surplus popu'. .tion. The United Ht,ite» have about seventy four millions. Hut ten millions of people in Canada, and what would he the effect ! It would be greatly to calm the diplomatists of the United SWtes in their efforts soinelim.. to encroach on what we say are Canadian rights. (Uughter) The diplomacy of the United States has l»en to their advantage in every treaty negotiated between the Urated States and the United Kingdom and if time permitted I could go over them in iletall and show you that they have secured some advantage at the expense of tanadii. Why) They were so powerful that they overawed us. W e telt it, and suffered loss as a consequence. The other day I noticed that Mr Hanna, the " lioss" of the Uepublican Party, said that the United States was not prepared to negotiate a commercial treaty with Canada in which they did not get the best of the bargain. I say to him that we will not make any commercial treaty with the United States, if wr know it, by which they get the best of the bargain. We do not wan- to be imposed upon by reciprocity treaties which place us at a di-a.. vrntage with the United State., and it would be foolish for us to d.. so To get back to my point, it is this-if you want the Empire lo be' strengthened send us of your people. We are encouraging Ih.- emigration of Doukhobors and Galicians and also Mennonites, hut theae people have to go through a course of naturalization in fact and in sentiment. Send your people to the Colonies and Oiey are British subiwis from the moment they settle, and always. They are Britisli in their tendencies, dispositions and sympathies I do not say ulti- mately that they will he better than the others, although I think they will • but immediately they are better and more helpful to the Domin- ion Then aa to the defence of the Empire, that cannot be over-esti- mated. We have sent 3,000 of our young men t» the South .\frican war. We might have given you 30,000, and would had they lieen required. Net Zealand has sent you her 2,000 and Australia 3 000 or 4 000 more. Napoleon said that Providence was on the side of the biggest battalions. Everybody knows that the numerical strength of a country gives it a great advantage. The V nlted States with 74 000 000 would be more dangerous in a contest than tnej would hive been thirty years ago with only 33,000,000 Give u. 10 000,000 in Canada and then should there be any attack on us liy our neighbors- we do not fear anything of the sort--we should Ix- m a far bitter condition to defend ourselves and the >ntere»'; »« 'l';' Empire than we are now. In 1812, with a population of 400,001), Canada resisted American aggression for three years and with coni- naratively little assistance from home, for your hands were full in waging your great wars with Napoleon. I do not make these remarks in any menacing spirit, but .is a matter of good MHies._ For our ovn, defence and the defence of the Empire, the population of all the ADDRCHS IIT THE )ION. 1. W. HOiW 17 CiiIonieH ihould bx increuwl u far u thkl can bx iloiMi l>j |iroinotiiiK the emignttion to the Colunien ol thine of your peoplo who lomvn jrour ■hurea. I understand that the agricultural MttleDientH o( your country have bren ilepleled, and that there han been a large transfer of the population from the agricultural diitricli to your cities. We want agricultural labourers. We have inilliona of acres of productive land which yield abundantly. They have ool .',250,000 acres under eulti- VHtion in Manitola, and they expect to se.. .10,000,000 bushels of grain, (live UN population and it follows that the resources of the country will lie ileveloped. We have 200,000,000 or 300,000,000 of dollars on ilenosit with our chartered banks t. Without a aingh' dissentient Canadians have given you a preference in their niivrket» and will lie glad when you are ready to give us a preference in the llritish market. The preference which we have £;.c- you means the loss of one or two millions of dollars to us in Customs duties. It is to our interest to give you this preference, and I was delighted that my estei- .■i((lier, including, of (-•ourw, tin- t'niwd 8tiile», for a defence fund, witli tlie undcr»t«ndinB tlmt nil the other p«rt« of tlie Kmpire woul.l ilo llic MHie, nnd there would tiiu« tie pn.vided a .■on«iderttble ^unl wliieh would lie from the outnel »pi.n>priiit. the most practical nolution of the problem of preferential trade, I suhmit, that I have yet heard of, and, of course, it would admit of discu»»ion before being acted u|K)n. The ark was not built in a day, ami great nations ami great political i|ue«tion» are not evolved in a day. We are Empire builders, and »e n>joice with you in tbeiuccesn of the Empire, nnd are willing tii tiear our share <.f lt« burden. We ought not Ui receive all this protection that we get without contribnting something in .eturn. In various ways, and prac- tical ways too, we do so already. Kvery dollar we s|iend on en igra tion makes the Empire stnmger, every mile of railway we build makes the anny 'nore mobile in case of invnaion, every man we train for military ►• rvice adds to the strength of the Empire. These are mat- ters by the way, and I only speak of them incid.ntally. but if another measure can be found by which we can nee distinctly ..hat we are con- tributing to the defence of the Empire without impoein'; undue bur- dens on our people, and if it should be atlopted univ ■ ally by the Emoire, I am sure that the Canadians will offer n < ol jection to it, but will' willingly bear their portion of the burden. I thank your lordslnp for this patient hearing. (Cheers.) The 1'm\ of Alierdeeii : I nin sure we all feel indebted to Mr. Hoss for *,his extremely interesting, suggestive and eloijuently delivei-ed ad- ilre.ss. (Hear, hear.) A full report will, no doubt, lie available of what he has said, and thus his statements nnd thoughtful suggestions will have uareful and proper consideration, and that is a great matter. Now, before I move a v;ite of thanks formally, and we adjourn, may t just make one or two remarks. Mr. Koss has I«.mi good enough to say that I could testify to the state of feeling of loyalty in Canada, and .so on. That is so, but not een more of us, but the thunder- storm as stopped members from coming. The noble chairman at the Iieginning rather intimated, I think, that Mr. Ross would touch on subjects with which, perhaps, we might not be in .accord with him. ADDRESS BT THE HON. G. W. ROSS 21 There was only one such question, I think, so far as I am concerned, and that was in reference to preferential duties, and I must say that he skated over it hi a way that would have done justice to any Cana- dian skater. (Laughter.) But what I really rose for was that, being chairman of the first Conference, that held in 1887, which I believe did a great deal of good, I wish to express my hearty support of what ^fr. Ross has said in favour of regular conferences. Of course, it is impossible to have a permanent Council for the reasons he has given. It implies the taking away from the Colonies for a long time their beHt men. You cannot expect them to agree to that. They can, how- <'ver, send to the conferences their best men, and they have done so in the past. I venture to say with regard to the Conference of 1887 that you could not have found more competent statesmen than were seated around that table under my chainnansfaip. There are many other points of interest to which one might refer, but I think this is not the occasion, and therefore I will content myself now with heartily concurring in the vote of thanks to Mr. Ross for hit< interesting state- ment. (Cheers ) The motion having been agreed to, and formally acknowledged by Mr. Ross, the proceedings terminated. Mr. Ross at Manchester. The fourth annual general meeting of the League was held in the Lord Mayor's Parlour, at the Manchester Town Hall, on Wednesday, 3l8t July, 1001. The chair was o' .i.pied by Earl Egerton, of Tatton (President of the Manchester Branch, and a Vice-President of the League), and among those present were the Ix)rd Jtayorof Manchester (.Mr. Thos. Briggs), the Earl of Onslow (Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and a Vice-President of the League), Sir John Cocklnirn, K.C.M.CJ. (ex-Premier of South Australia), the Hon. George W. Itosa (Premier of Ontario), JFr. F. C. Danson, Sir Horace Tozer, K.C.M.G.; Sit Frank Forbes Adam, CLE.; Sir W. H. Houldsworth, Bart., >LP.; Mr. J. K. Bythell, Mr. R. Barclay, Sir John Mark, Mr. Alderman Gibson, Colonel Pilcher, Mr. Gustev Behrens, Mr. H. W. .Marcus, Mr. Alex. McNeill (Canada), Colonel Cargill, and Mr. C. Fireman Murray (Secretary). Mr. Ross, on being called, spoke as follows :— My lord, my Lord Mayor, ladies and gentlemen,— I am delighted that on the occasion of my third visit to England I have had, among many other great pleasures, this particular one of meeting with the members of the British Empire League in annual meeting assem- bled. For many years I have been a member of the League in Can- ada, and have reciprocated, as far as T knew how, what T thought was and believed to be the sentiments of the parent League in this country. Since my visit here I have had many opportunities of know- ing personally, as well as by report, the purpose and object of tiie League, and I can say now that T think much more of its usefulness as an organisation for developing the spirit of Imperial unity than I ever did before, ami I can conceive of no greater puriwse to which a body of British .subjects could apply themsehes than in endeavouring to difiuse throughout the British Empire that one sentiment of autonomy and unity. (Applause.) Look at a map of the British Empire. It appears to be a thing of slireds and patches, not like the great Empires of Germany or of Russia, or like the great Republic of America, a solid federation or organ- 22 ADDBESS BY THE HON. n. W. BOM ization, but scattered over the whole of the globe ; and one wonders if it be possible that from its "powerhouse on the line," as Kipling calls it, there can go forth to the extremities of the Empire such a pulsation of unity and of national feeling as will make those at the remotest points feel that though far removed from the centre they are still vitally connected with it. We in Canada felt for many years that while wc were much admired as a Colony we were not much appre- ciated. We now lielieve that we are appreciated as well as admired, thanks to a certain extent to the present Colonial Secretary, Mr. ■lamberlain, and others here. In a certain sense the clouds have rolled away, and we feel that we are nearer the heart of the Empire, warming our hands at the same tireside at which the hands of the great men who have upheld this Empire have been warmed for centur- ies. (Applause.) Lord Onslow has referred to the union of the Colonies by the war in the Transvaal. It is said that Bismarck precipitated the Franco-German war for the purpose of uniting the (ierman provinces. Whether that was his object or no— it was perhaps only one of his objects— he succeeded at all events in achieving it, and it seems to me not a little curious that a scion of the same Teutonic blood should have precipitated this war in the Transvaal which, under the guidance of the Providence that rules all things, has had a similar effect upon the Empire. In the Transvaal ' 'Uggle there has been mixed together the blood of the Colonists, as well as the blood of those who fought and won the battles of Waterloo and Inkerman, iind now we are one in a sense that we never were before. (Applause.) Still, it is well that wc shoukl look over the ground and see how the union which now appears to be so substantial in sentiment can be made more substantial in fact. (Applause.) How (.an the I'.ritish Empire in the face of the tremendous commercial competition of the world best maintain its position amongst the nations I I am not here to predict ruin and decay, but as one having had .wme expriience in the organization of our Canadian Federation, and as having looked on with admiration at the formation of the ,\ustralian Commonwealth, I think the time has come when the great men who rule this country should see if some means cannot Iw tievised whereby in one ftxleration, con- secrated by the loyalty and devotion of His Majesty's subjects all the world over, there might not be formed an Empire that would stand together Colunially as well as Imperially. (Cheev^. ) I think we are ^4 ADDRESS BY THE HON. G. W. ROSS on the eve of that time, and I cou!d gi.e you many reoHona but will trouble you with few. I do not know juat what form that federation would assume. The evolution of States is a slow process. The evolu- tion of the Brit.'sh Constitution took a^s ; the evolution of Canada cook many years ; but may we not hope that some time or other, under the shadow of Westminster, there shall be an assembly from the remotest corners of this Empire— Colonists with devoted hearts and loyal purpose — who will asoist in biudinf; together more closely the various parts of the Empire than they are now bound, and uniting not by mere sentiment — although we cannot leave sentiment alone — but by fact as well as sentiment all the Colonies, so that when the world looks upon the British Empire it will look not upon an Eng- land splendidly isolated (as she is understood to be), but upon an Empire splendidly united from one corner of the globe to the other. (Cheers.) That must be the Britain of the twentieth century if I mistake not. (Cheers.) We shall not be content always as Colonies to maintain our present isolation. I do not say that we insist on a closer union, but we believe that for you and for us a closer union will be an advantage to all. (Applause.) Let it be discussed and consid- ered. There have l>een conferences between the Imperial authorities and the Colonies, and, so far as Canada is concerned, they have been of much service to us. I understand from Mr. Chamberlain that he expects during' th*? Coronation time next year to have another confer- ence with representatives of the Colonies. In this way we shall come to understjmd each other better, and there are many questions we might discuss apart from that of a Federated Parliament. Sir John Coekburn referred to the simpliticabion of the marriage laws. That is a very important matter. And could we not unify the currency of the Empire, the system of weights and measures, .and have a uniform and more satisfactory system of insolvency laws for the whole Empire? When a man in JVIanchepter sells his goods to a Canadian he does not know whether he will get a hundred cents or one cent for his dollar. A uniform insolvency law would clear away that diflBculty. I know that there are practically similar postal laws, and now it is proposed to have a similar telegraph system, which is another good thing. In this age we cannot afford tn wait for steamboats for our mails. We must get quickly to business, and we can only get quickly to it through the submarine cables. And then we must have some sort of reciprocity ADDRESS BY THE HON. O. W. ROSS 25 with regard to professions. Your Lord Chancellor could not practise law in Canada ; he could not issue a writ for tf) ; your most distin- guished medical men could not administer the 8implest remedial medi- cine to a siok man in the city of Toronto. Our doctors could gn und fight in the Transvaal, but they could not administer relief to the Canadian boy? who went there with tiiem because they had no creden- tials for entering the medical service of the Empire. These are things that a crtnference might discusa. Many of us feel that we are niem- l)ers of the same family, that we i)elong to a common household, and that we all have mutual interests in that household. (Applause.) These are a few of the matters that occur to me as I pass along that would h*'lp to remove some difficulties. Then I pass to another ques- tion. While a conference might take up these I have referred to in passing, it should certainly also take up a most important matter which to me appears to be vital. What do we want in the Colonies most ill things? We want population. Our capital is accumulating very steadily, but our population is not inci*ea8ing as fast as it ought Ut do. What is bein^ done with the surplus population of this country as it leaves yo'»«* shores year after year 1 Where does it go ? I had a statement put into my hand by the agent of our Government in Lon- don yesterday, which he said he believed was true. It is to this effect : 1,728,000 people left the United Kingdom between 1881 and 1H90. Of these 68 per cent wr^nt to the United States, 1 7 per cent, to Aus- tralia, and 13 per cent, to Britsh North America. I have no quarrel with the United States, but T should much prefer that the 68 per cent. had gone to Canada, and the 13 per cent, to the United States. (Applause.) Between 1891 and 1900 you sent away 726,000 persons, at the rate of 72 per cent, to the United States, 13 per cent, to Brit- ish North America, 7.' per cent to Natal, and 5i per cent, to Australia. What is my argument "• It is this— if you want to strengthen the Empire strengthen the Colonies. (Applautj.) The United States is strong eno'igh already with its 74,000,000 of population. Canada has fewer than 6,000,000. In any troublt between Creat Bntain and the ITnited States Canada wcmhl he the lighting ground, and we want to see that there are lighting men on tho fighting ground when that time comes. (Applause.) In V '2 we were a population of 400,000, and we held the American.; ii. check for three years, while they had 8.000.000 of people. If under those circumstances we heh( our own, S6 ADDRESS BY THE HON. O. W. ROSS how much stronger we should be now if Cannda had 10,000,000 population instead of 5,000,000. (Applause.) That is one way of defending the Empire. Sir John Cockburn has referred to the defence of the Empire. The Empire will be strong in defence if the Colonies are strong. If un enemy strikes, where does he strike 1 Hei . I Not at all. He will give you here a wide margin, he will not approach this inland ; he will strike Canada, Natal, Australia, somewhere abroad. If you want the Empire to be fortified let it be done not so much by expenditure on fortifications — that is good in its way, of course — as by filling up our vast prairies and fertile areas by such men as leave your shores as a matter uf course. By doing bo you will make the Canadian Colony stronger, and that will be one of the best defences the Empire can have. We have only one-and-a-half persons to the square mile in Canada, and you hare 350 people to one square mile here. Why, if we had a population of equal size in proportion to our urea of square miles, we should have a population of 50,000,000 or 60,000,000 of people. Supposing we had 20,000,000 in Canada— who would be afraid of military aggression then ? I believe it is the duty of Government to foster the trade of the Empire, and by fostering our population you would be fostering trade. Manitoba gave us 30,000,- 000 bushels of wheat last year, and Manitoba has a population of 250,000. Put there another 250,000 people, and you will have 50,000,000 or 60,000,000 bushels more. Providence has given us a good climate and a fine soil, and we only want men to till that soil. The population of Ireland is half what it was fifty years ago. Where did the 4,000,000 go to? To Canada t Not at all, I am sorry to say, because the Irish are our best settlers. (Applause.) We are proud of the Iri-sh race. (Applause.) They are tm easily governed in Cmada as any other people, although you seem to have some trouble with uhem here. (laughter ami applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, what I want to impress upon you is this (it is one part of my mission to England to see if we cannot assist and direct emigration to Canada), that in your own interests you should rind some means to so direct this great vital stream of 100,000 men and women who leave your shores every year that tliR Colonies will get the benefit of it and not a foreign country. Of course I apeak with all respect of the United States, and when I say foreijin country I mean that we shouhl not direct the stream of emigrants to any country whose interests iire adverse to ours. (Ap- ADDRESS BT THE HON. O. W. BUSS 27 plnu»e.) And that leads m« to another queation ; by fostering tradr with Canada you will not only make ub 8tron)?er financially and numerically, but you will help to bind us together as an Empire. Trade follow! the flag. Trade follows where there is the least resist- ance, and where there is the largest margin of profit. Has the Empire done anything to foster trade with Canada? Not a great deal. But it has done something, and we are grateful for what it has done. What more can it dol ladies and gentlemen, if you look at the resources of our country, at its vast agricultural area, aad at its latent mineral resources, you will see that there is room there for an invest- ment of capital that, I believe, would be protiUble and would yield yuu a dividend, and that would transfer, not to » foreign country, but to one of your own Colonies, the wealth which accumulates here, and which seems to lie accumulating with such wonderful rapidity. You are consuming half a million tons of wood pulp for the manufacture of paper every year. We have in Ontario an area of supply that would keep you going for at least 300 years. That country has been thoroughly inspected by experts, and their report is that something like 300 millions of tons of pulp can there l)e obtained. There is one base of supply which we think might well be exploited. (Applause.) And then another question arises. You wish t^ defend the Kmpire. What do you propose to do ? You must have a concrete .scheme, and the Colonies are not averse to contributing towards the defence of the Empire. If you want to defend the Empire you have got to defend the commerce of the Empire, and if you defend the commerce of the Empire why not make it pay for that defence. That, I submit, is the logical outcome of the question. I say to you here in Manchester that we are willing— I think we are willing— in Canada to impose a duty '•! five per cent, on all importations from any foreign country, excepting the Colonies of the Empire, the money to lie applied as ii war tax or as a defence fund for the defence of the Empire. Will you reciprocate that ? Will you impose a five per cent, tax on all imports from foreign countries, excluding the Colonies, as a defence fund for the defence of the Empire! Surely that is a practical liasis. ("No, no.') You say no. Work it out and see. That is the thought I give you to-day. I am not the originator of it, and I have only one object in putting it forward. I say, if the commerce of the Empire is to be defended there must Ije a tax such as I have described, and that's the 28 ADDB1S8 BY THE HON. O. W. ROSH \opv of it all. But if you think that that is not the solutiim, let us try and find Home other solution. (Hear, hoar.) And now, I/}rd Egcr- ton, I am sorry I Imve kept you bo long. (" No, no,'" and " Go on.") I repeat my appreciation of your kindness in tisking me to meet the Ijeague, and tlie kindness and courtesy with which I have been received here to day. You may depend upon it, Canada will not desert you, just lis surely iis we are convinced you will not desert Canada. (Ap plause.) We have hut one purpose, one common purpose, and that is to make the most of our opportunities, to let the world see that there is enough vitality in thi.^ old land to live through these little troubles in the Transvaal, to look on— sometimes with indifference — at the growlin;^ of those discontented with your way of doing things, and still more, to bring directly under your own guardianship those Colonies which you have plantt^ at a great cost, so that together we may stand, if need be, a rampart against the world. (IjOiid applause.) Mr. Ross at Niagara Falls. A large party of Liberals crossed the lake on the Chippewa ua the afternoon of the 21at of September t*i meet the Premier and Mrs. Uosh at Niagara Fulls. Among those present were lion. K. J. Davin, Com- missioner of Crown Landn ; Hon. R. Harcourt, Minister of Education ; Hon. J. Dryden, Minister of Agriculture ; Hon. J. T. Oarrow, K.C. ; Messrs. H. M Mowat, K.C, Hugh Blain, Rev. Dr. Bewart, eto., etc. At Niagara Falls wharf a procession was organized headed by the band of the Q.O.H., which proceeded to the Park tu meet Mr and Mrs. Ross, who were arriving by special train. Mr. H. M. Mowat, K.C, presided, and presented the congratulations of the Liberal party to the Premier on his safe return to Canada, assuring him that alt were united — Reformers, ImperialistB, Radicals and old Liberals — in the desire to give him an enthusiastic and affectionate welcome home. He said : " Liberals love a leader who leads, and they always fall in behind a leader in whuse honesty of purpose they Itelieve— a leader whose love of country is conspicuous and intense. Your countrymen have noted with pride your efforts in the Old Country to stimulate the interest of the English, Scotch and Irish people in Canada. We have all known you were ever ready to take hammer in hand for the forg- ing of the links of the Empire, and your public endoavors tu make the people thoroughly understand the methods of strengthening the com- mercial ties between Canada and the Old Country and directing immi- grants to our wheat fields and forests have been followed with pride and satisfaction." As the Premier stepped forward to reply he was greeted with cheer after cheer of welcome, and he could not at first make himself heard. He said ; — Mr. Mowat, ladies and gentlemen, — I have done so little public speaking d-nng the last five or six weeks that I am quite unable to reply adequately to the kind words with which my naffie has been mentioned and my public services characterized. I would be strangely constituted indeed if I did not feel more than ordinarily impressed with the generous and friendly reception which you hitve given me on my return to my beloved Ontario. (Applause.) I left Ontario for two purposes : Firstly, I wanted to look into .several matters in England which I thought would be better under- stood on the ground than they could be studied at a distance, and, secondly, T have served mj country so faithfully that I thought I 29 30 ADDREN8 BY THK HON. U. W. KOHH waN entitled t^i n brief holiflfty, nnd that under ordinary cirouniRtanceii you could get ulung well enough without me. (A voice — '* No,") Both HuppoflitionH provfid true. I have lixikw] intlievc they are all the better for having been left in that condition for a short time. T am glad to wvy I am returning in gfXHl health ami in good spirits, quite satisfied that Canada iH [irosjiernus and quite hopeful as to the prosperity, material an<) political, of this country for the future. ItRITlfJil OPINIOX niANGINr;. It is very gratifyin;; to me, on my thin! vi.^it to the Old Land, to find that tlie opinions of the people of the Mother Country have changed a gtHKl deal in the last tifteen years. It is quite true that we are thought of n)ore than wo wi-rtt fifteen years ago. It is quite true that we are Iwtter known now than then, and I think 1 may say, without (..ly reflection on the peopU' of Kngland, that it would not hurt them or us if we were even better known than we are now. Several oi re uni stances have cornbinetl to produce the present condition of affairs. First, the part taken by Canada in the great Jubilee celebration of lf97 indicated to the people of England that we hjul men of high repute, high standing and high character connected with public affiiirs. No name is more highly prized, no man of colonial origin in all the dependencies of the Kmpire is more highly esteemed, than the great leader of the Lilieral party of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. (Cheers.) It was indeed a very gratifying cir- cumstance to nie, to know that not only are we considered materially one of the greatest colonies of the Empire, but to feel that the men who have the de.«tinies of our country under their control are regarded as among the greatest statc^smen of the Empire. (Cheers.) The policy of the great laljeral party in giving a preference to the products of the British Empire in the markets of Canada has done a great deal to foster a feeling of .sympathy and resjject between Canada am] the fjnpire. AVhat British statesmen say is, " While you have a tariff" that shuts out all nations not of British blood, and while in the exercise of your rights as a free colony you are at lilrerty to frame your tariff to :. .t yourselves, we regard it as a great compliment that you give to us, who are pai-t of the Empire, the Mother Country, a piffercnce you do not give to foreign countrie.'^. Thi^ you do with APDREHS BY TRK HON. fl. W. ROSH 31 n rletriment t^i ynar revenue of perhaps a milliun or two — a j^ft yn of wliat we have done. (Applause.) To got at the heart of the l)u<«ineNs men of Knglarid, to get a kindly toucli ln'tween the great course of English trade tmd tlic smaller strejinir^ which How from this huul, is an advantage that will liring nuit-h greater results in the future than it has yet done. I am contident of this. CANADA ANI> TIIK WAK. In the third place, the attitude of Canada towards the Empire in the South African war, the sacriticeN we made, and the chividrous manner in which we sent our sons to light the battles of the Empire, the loyal spirit we then showed, have struck a sympathetic chord in the hearts of the English people that perhaps nothing elise would Imve done. (Cheers.) It was an occasion of common danger, it was an occasion when the Empire felt a great contest could only Iw settled in a strenuous way, and although Britain felt equal to the liwk alone, to find Canada and the Colonies come to her assistance — not so much because she neeiled it as because the colonial spirit is a loyal spirit — impressed colonial loyalty on the Empire as never Wfore. Then there is the fact that u distinguished Canadian, Lord Strathcona, at his own expense, contributed so materially to the conduct of the war ; this, I think, added all that need l>e said to indicate why the feeling towards Canada has improved as it has in the last fifteen years. I was glad of this, Iwcause I was impressed on former occasions with what appeared to nie to be a spirit of indifference ; I felt as if the people of Britain looked upon Canada as one of her colonies, of course to Iw preserved, but with no special interest, and I remon- strated, as perhaps some of you may have noticed, in some speeches on the extent to which that indifference prevjiils still. Much as has Imen done in the last four or five years, much yet remains to Im- done. I must not charge the people of the British Empire with indifference ; that would be an unfair charge, but I do say we are not yet known as well as we ought to l>e. While there may not bs the same intense interest on the part of Imperial statesmen in Canadian affairs as I think there ought t«t be, still I think we have not ourselves done our full duty, A SPIRIT OF INniFFERBNrB. Looking at the Empire from the centre, and I tried to put myself in the place of British atatesmfcu in tlie last three or four nionths, I found 3t ADDRBW BT TBI HON. O. W. ROM that tha conceru of the Empiiv are mo«t engroMin^. On»t BriUin, in order to maintitin lirr ■upraiintcy, hiu to study diplomacy u a Una art. Uhe muit guard asaiDnt the aggreiaionii of Kuisia on her Indian frontier, ibe miiflt guard aKainct couibinatione againHt her, muHt Mtudy public opinion in (lermiiny and France, and liaa to »™ that the United Htatee pays duo deference ui her iritereNts on the American continent. From her central watch tower, an it were, nhe han to guard commerce on every Ma, to lee that her anuy i» maintained in a due uliita of etHciency, and that lier navy in not eclipeeii by the navies of Franoe, Qermany and Kumia. From that central |i<>int she watchen the fat<' of the Empire in the four quartem of the world, KUarding .140,000,000 people as a mother would gunril hiT children. (Cheem.) Ho it ia very difficult to get Engliah ■tatenint a to sit down and coniider tlie affaire of one colony. The family ia so large, the intereata ao diverae, the maintenance of England as a 6rat rate power involves such tremendoua rvaponaibilitiea. that yon can hardly expect Imperial statesmen to turn from gnnt affaira, which to them are major, though to ua they are minor, to smaller onea, which to ua are major and to them are minor. I diacuased thia aiibjeot with a number of sutesmen. Mr Chamberlain, Colonial Secretary, and Mr. Broderick, Secretary for War, were very strongly impressed. I remonstrated with them in a mild way, or perhaps I should not use the word remonst-ate. I led the diacuaaiou to that particular point. I aaid, " How ia it we Canadiana feel that von nr not giving direct and apecitic attention to mattera that we consider ol immense importance, and that you are busy with other matters in which we take no particular interest ? " The anawer I received waa practically in line of my argument a moment ago, that Canada ia a great colony, but not the only colony of the Empire. " Look at our Indian Empire, with three hundred million people, and her frontier to the north ; look at the policy of the United Statea, aometiraea, as we think, endeavoring to encroach upon ua. All these are great queationa essential to the Empire. You do not see them a 'e do. Whilat we have not done perhaps as much as you think we should have done, we have not been able to do as much as we would have liked." THE CANADIAN SIDE. I have endeavored to put myself in the position of looking on the situation from a British standpoint. Turning to the Canadian stand- point, our position is : " We have Canada primarily to deal with. We have an interest in Imperial concerns incidentally — and the larger interest we take in Imperial concerns the better Canadians we will be." (Applauae.) We must therefore broaden the horizon of our politics ; perhaps we have done well enough in the past, but I am looking to the future, and there are two or three lines to which I have called attention in Great Britain to which I may rpfer here. In the ADD*I»H nv Till HUN, O. W. ROS.S 33 Bnt place, I ni«l« it my liuiinma to wie iw far na I ™uW tlii' imtuni Slid extent (m no iloubt our potition in an ea«y one if we uniienil»nil it properly. There the market it, it awaita ua ; the cgueation ia, how are we to necure it ? I ipent part of a day in the Liverpool and a day in thi' Man.lw«UT market to aee what produce was eipoaed for «alkinK over the Held I wa« satisfied that of nine-tenths of the produce ix|s>Bed for sale in Liverpool and Manchester we were able, if wii went alwiit it in the right way, to supply the British consumer with articles ju.st as ko.n1 as, or perhaps Iwtter, than those pui-chased from day to day tli.rc (Applause.) A VKRV SMALL SHAHK. Let it be not forgotten that of i(SOO,000,000 worth of fissl suppliea which the British consumer buys Canada sella only alxiut 10 per cent —less than 10 per cent. Where does the other 90 per cent, come from ? There are wheat from Itussia, fruit from France, liult(3r from Denmark— prout his travellers. It is our business to send our travellers in a national sense to lireat Britain and convince the men who have accounts with (iermanv, Uussia, the United States and France that if they open an account with us we can supply go.000,000 per week, and still going on. 86' ADDRESS BY THE HON. O. W. BOSS LOOKING FOB RELIEF. Tha» money must be found somewhere. The taxpayers of Kng- land are burdened almost to the last pound, the income-tax being now one shilling and two pence in the pound. What the English taxpayer is next going to consider is this : " Is there any ^ther way that we can shift the burden of taxation 1 " We have the tax on our income, and tobacco and spirits are taxed to the last notch. Is there any other way that the burden can be distributed ! It must not be .shifted in such a way as to involve an attack upon free trade which is sacred to the mind of the British people. You must not attack that, except a.s a war defence measure. If you can get it at all, my opinion is that is the way to get it. The fact is that the middle class, as well as the aristocratic class, all owners of property, feel they are overbuitleneil with ti .ation, and are willing to shift the burden from their own to the shoulders of somebody else. In making that adjustment I bolieie it is possible by a proper and statesmanlike representation, to bring about such a change as will serve the purpose and lead .some day to preferential trade. (Cheers.) This view is sneculative, I admit," but we must study tliis ijuestion before we can find a solution. TO 8TRE.NGTIIEN THE COLONIES. The next iiuestion asked was, what rill the colonies do towajil.- the defence of the empire! I answercil. Would a proposition liki- this meet your approval : You are sending out every year somethiiii; like 100,000 people from the United Kingdom. You have cut the population of Ireland almost in two in the last 50 years, reducin" it from 8,000,000 to 4,.500,000. Of course the greater number of these people did not come to us. Where are all these people going ; Whoii^ are the tens and hundreds of thousands from England, Ireland, Scot- land and Wales going! We get a small percentage of them, it is true, but where are the others going ! If you want to make the colo- nies strong and put them in a position to defend the empire, send us your surplus population. This is a most important matter. I must not speak too boldly, but I do feel this is a view of the i|uestion which Englishmen never considered seriously. I think I am speakitjg within the absolute truth when I say that this view had never occurred to them. (Hear, hear.) I rememlier discussing it briefly with Lord Lansdowne, .Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and a former Governor- General of the Dominion, who takes a lively interest in Canada to dav, and he felt the importance of it. At least he said so, and I ha\e no doubt he was sincere, and in the meetings T addressed— I only addressed ohi-ee or four altogether — I said in my view that that and the trade qui stion, taking the two as one, is tlie keystone to the future prosperity of Canada. (Hear, hear.) ADDRESS BY THE HON'. O, \V. ROSO 37 A 81MPLK PIIOIILKM. I said to them, '* If little Manitoba, with a population of 250,000, can prixluce 50,000,000 bushels oi wheat, put a million people in there and you have a basis of food supply for the empire, and you need not jjo to Russia, nor anywhere else, as you have to now, ami you will liave to depend upon no foreign country foryour food." (Cheers.) Put 10,000,000 people in Canada, and you need not be afraid of anybody. (Cheers.) The United States would not attack us if we were 10,000,000, nor would anybody else. If it took England two years to sulidue 250,000 Boers, how long would it take the ~Tnited .States to subdue 10,000,0(10 Canadians? (Cheers.) They would never do it tbi" =•''': ti eternity. (Renewed cheers.) I have resolved to give considerable attention to this phase of the question, believing public opinion in Canada will be with me in doing this. (Cheers.) We want people in this country, and we want people who are of our tiwn kith and kin, men trained in the British school, men educated in the confident belief in British institutions, who speak our own lan- guage, and who practise the religion of our own people of one denom- ination or another. (Cheers.) That will be the best defence for Canada. Switzerland, with a population of 2,000,000, has defied the strongest powers of Europe. We have room here for fifty or sixty million people, and it should be our duty to address ourselves to this problem, to encourage men of our own blood who leave the shores of the mother country to come here and help us to build up our country. "what do they think of us?" May I be permitted in closing to say that the attention which I received as your representative exceeded my most sanguine anticipa- tions. Everywhere I asked for an interview, whether it was with the Colonial Secretary, with the Minister of War, with the Foreign Sec- retary, or with the leader of the House of Commos, that interview was immediately granted. (Applause.) All seemed to be anxious to know " what is thought of us in Canada ? " Ond would say ; " What do you think of this South African war and of the position of Great Britain?" My answer to that always was : "This war must goon until the British arms are victorious, no matter what the cost. Brit- ain must not surrender ; Canada will feel that you have disgraced yourselves if you do." (Cheers.) The Chairman said that the Liberal party was composed cf Lib- eriils and Radicals, and some Imperialists. I hope you do not misun- derstand the meaning of this word "Imperialist." It ought ♦ sig- nify, in the broadest view which any man can take, the empire to which we belong. Do not think ihat the word means the aristocratic domination or promotion of the interests of the few to the disadvan- 38 ADDRESS BY THE HON. G. W. ROSS tage of the many. luiperialistn iiiRHns that the british Empire is one, and that her intereatH are one, and tliat what makes the British Em- pire great makes Canadn great ; if Britain falls Canada falls ; that if Canada is hurt the empire is hurt ; that if you strike a blow at the empire you strike Canada. (Cheers.) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EMPIRE. Every railway we build, every ship constructed, every canal opened, is a conti-ibuticm to the greatness of the smpire, and I say to our friends in England, come and see what we have done to hold this great possession which you havt- given to us, and you will be prouder of hhe Canadian colonies than ever before —this great heritage, which in every moment of peril we have defended ourselves and snatched from thti enemy's grasp. We are not pleading for your assistance in any mercenary way, nor do we fail in contidence in ourselves. On the o'-her hand, there is no part of the empire that has more confidence in its future than Canada has — (hear, hear) — and there is no part of the empire that would be less disposed to beg a favor from you tlian we are, particularly any favor we ara not entitled to. But if you have any money to spend put it in the development of our rich mineral re- scurces, in the development of our pulp concessions, in encouragi'«g the emigrants to settle upon our lands and upon our ranches ; invest it in biyvae of the great Canadian industries, assured that not only will it give you good dividends, but it will strengthen and build up the great empire to which you belong. (Cheers.) My ImperiBlism is one empire, one flag, one Canada ; Canada doing its duty loyally, coura- geously, manfully, assuming no humiliating or weak position, hut bi avely taking oui' share of the responsibility of empire, and showing to the world that this vast heritage committed to us has beer, entrusted to no craven Iian^^s. (Loud cheers.) A DESERVED TRIBtJTE. I thank you for the kind references to Mrs. Ross. She u a tower of strength to the Ontario Government. (Cheers.) She ip the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. I was almost going to say she is % pool of Siloam, where you can get healing for some of your troubles. (Laughter and cheers.) I thank you for your kind references to her. The part which a good woman can play in the government of the country cannot very easily be defined nor very easily be expressed. (Applause.) You seem to know it. I know it and feel it, and I am sure she knows it and feels it, too, and I hope this cordial reception which you have given me to-day will have the efiect of giving me more earnestness and zeal in the service of my native country than I ever possessed before. (Cheers.) ADDRESS BY THE HON. O. W. ROSS 39 MOIIE THAN- PARTY 81T